So, I watched a YouTube Trucker video

I don't have to do the same run every day if I don't want to. We bid our schedules every 6 months. We choose when and where we go which includes start days and start times. We can choose an extra board schedule and run something different every day. We can choose to run wild which is the road and sleep in hotels. I've ran all over the country running wild. I've been on this schedule for a year or so. I've been driving for 30yrs and youre absolutely correct in that running the same schedule every day can get monotonous. I love the road but for the past 12yrs I've been running linehaul. I love that I don't deal with shippers, receivers, parking, fueling at truckstops, or any of the other headaches that come with being on the road. I'm an old man who at this point loves being home every day and having a life. My whole point isn't to say what I do is better or worse than you or any other O/O's. I appreciate and respect guys like you. I just wanted to say i feel for all you guys and all the bull×××× you have deal with.

 

Yeah, it's so much fun running all over the country and making no money.

 

I get what you are saying, but not all of us owner-ops want to trade places with you. In fact some of us left what you have but slightly better(UPS in my case which is $50-$100 a day more than Old Dominion on a mileage bid) to get where we are currently. In one of my posted settlements I didn’t get paid the last 10 days of September I took off. Because of the 46 or so weeks a year I work hard I still manage to be able to vacation a couple times a year with the family and live a reasonable lifestyle. When I left Buster Brown 14 years ago I said I would be happy if I made the same amount of money working for myself. Fortunately I am able to do so while also fully funding a solo 401k to replace and surpass the pension I had at UPS and will still receive @62. Not all company jobs are created equal and you definitely have a good paying one at Old Dominion, but not all owner op jobs are created equal either and some of us are extremely pleased with our income and what we get to do to earn it. I didn’t get this rig earning peanuts.

 

I never said I didn't understand why you guys want to be O/O's nor did I say that OD was the best job out there. I said I feel for you guys and what you have to deal with. I've been out here for 30yrs and I'm very well aware that what works for one driver won't for the other. That's awesome you make great money in this economy. I myself made $146,000 last year working 52hrs a week. I like being able to shut the truck off and walk away from it at the end of my shift. My wife is a regional sales manager and she's never able to get away from her phone or emails. I don't have to deal with that kind of stress. You guys work hard and my hat goes off to you.

 

That’s why I prefaced my comment that I get what you are saying. I wasn’t coming for you, merely stating that what some of us do is for slightly different reasons than others. Also slightly different end results than others. It’s a big world and what works for one of us may not for others. It would definitely be boring if we all did the same thing and made the same money.
My wife is in medical sales and is talking to offices while on vacation sometimes. I get pleasure from owning my rig and don’t do any of the hard labor repairs on it. I do wash it because I enjoy making a dirty rig shine when I am done.

 

Sure, that's the definition of being rich. Like the homeless folks around the corner.

 

This guy represents less than 1% of the owner operators when he pretends to represent the other 99%+.

 

Then you have a group of truckers like me that drove a company truck during the week for 4-1/2 days (50 hrs.) regional. All weekends and holidays off. All expenses for fuel and maintainace, and chrome paid. Insurance, 401k, paid vac time. (30 days a year. Which I never took. Lol. Salary pay so paid whether driving or not. Along with that full time gig also have a part time gig with our own truck or trucks to make extra on a week night or week end on side gigs. Or mostly in my case nowadays with semi retirement just use the old trucks for play.
How do we fit in?